TRAINING 



The 1968-9 fiscal year was a year of change. The Forestry 

 Technician Course, started in 1943 by the Department, was 

 phased out with the community colleges taking this course 

 into their curriculum. This permitted the Ontario Forest 

 Technical School to shift its emphasis to in-service training 

 which led to a critical look at all of the Department's train- 

 ing activities; as a result, greater centralization of the 

 Department's training within the Branch has occurred. 



Some consultative work with other Branches, in terms of 

 course development, was initiated and will continue as 

 organizational needs dictate. As usual, the five certificate 

 courses in Timber, Fish and Wildlife, Fire Suppression, Lands 

 and Scaling were given, and a new four-week certificate 

 course on Park work was initiated. 



Added to this was the development of a new Instructor 

 Training Course incorporating the use of closed-circuit 

 television, or video-tape recording equipment. The course 

 was designed in such a way that formal lectures were almost 

 completely eliminated. The onus was put on the students; 

 they presented practice lessons, criticized the lessons as a 

 group, and then reviewed the whole presentation on the 

 television monitor. Their reviews reinforced the concepts 

 expressed in the preceding discussions. 



RECRUITMENT 



To provide the Field and Head Office organizations with 

 qualified professional and technical staff, eighteen Univer- 

 sities and eight Forestry Technician Schools were visited in 

 Canada and northern United States. 



To streamline the system of handling applications for 

 permanent and summer employment, new forms were 

 developed in collaboration with Systems and Procedures 

 Section to cover interview reports, special applications, staff 

 requisitions, card indexing and performance records. 



Newspaper advertising was used to cover specialized 

 positions not normally handled by the campus program. 



The Junior Forest Ranger program continued to be attrac- 

 tive to 17-year-olds. A total of 1,706 boys were placed in 75 

 camps in the northern part of the Province. 



CLASSIFICATION 



Some 420 class specifications are used in the classification 

 of positions in the Department. The program of reviewing 

 all positions on a three-year rotation continued on schedule. 

 Organization charts and position specifications have been 

 made available to all supervisors of organizational units. A 



continuous audit function is carried out to assure equal 

 treatment. 



Six classification grievances were dealt with; four were 

 resolved by the Department; and two were heard by the 

 Classification Rating Committee and failed. One dismissal 

 grievance was dealt with and heard before the Grievance 

 Board and failed. 



EMPLOYEE RELATIONS 



Agreements were reached on hours of work for pilots and 

 air engineers during the operating season and for excess 

 time on forest fires. Exclusions from the bargaining unit were 

 finalized. Effective communication was maintained with the 

 Staff Relations Branch, Treasury Board and the Civil Service 

 Association of Ontario. 



A revised indexing system for personnel circulars was 

 established. The objective of clear dialogue between the 

 field and head office was pursued, and conditions were 

 improved. 



The program of assisting the problem employee was 

 maintained and included such items as financial and emo- 

 tional as well as alcoholic; at meetings, emphasis has been 

 placed upon the role of supervisor. The results of this pro- 

 gram cannot be assessed on a short-term basis, but there 

 are indications which support the continuation of such an 

 endeavour. 



DISPOSITION OF PERSONNEL 



J. W. Giles (Supervisor, Timber Section) was appointed to 

 Regional Director, Southern Region, on January 1, 1969, 

 and Dr. W. R. Henson (Professor of Forest Entomology, 

 Director of Graduate Studies in Forestry, Lecturer in Bio- 

 logy, Fellow in Trumbull College at Yale University) was 

 appointed Chief, Research Branch, on September 3, 1968, 

 replacing D. R. Wilson who had held both positions since 

 January 17, 1968. Mr. Wilson joined the Niagara Parks Com- 

 mission as General Manager. 



A. J. Herridge (Regional Director, North-Eastern Region) 

 was appointed Chief of Timber Branch on July 1, 1968, upon 

 the superannuation of M. B. Morison who had held that 

 position since September 1, 1964. J. W. Lockwood (Land 

 Planning Analyst, Land Acquisition and Planning Section) 

 filled the position left vacant by Mr. Herridge's transfer on 

 July 1,1968. 



G. A. Hamilton (District Forester, Port Arthur) was ap- 

 pointed Chief, Operations Branch, on February 1, 1969; the 

 former Chief, P. O. Rhynas, was appointed Special Assistant 

 to the Deputy Minister on February 11, 1969. 



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